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No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

It seems as though I am on a chocolate and peanut butter kick lately, must be the stress and anxiety of waiting for Spring to finally arrive!

I am sure many of you have already made these cookies or have at least eaten one. This is a quick and easy recipe that whips up in no time and does NOT require an oven or any baking making them perfect when the warm weather comes around and you are not wanting to heat up the oven but still desire a sweet treat. This recipe is one my family has been using for years so I am unsure of its origin, if you know, drop me a line and I will include it in my blog.

While this recipe includes common ingredients and whips up in no time, I do find these cookies can be a bit temperamental. Ideally, you will end up with a cookie that holds its shape but is still fudgelike upon cooling. Many people either have problems with their cookies not setting up and remaining too gooey or being too dry and crumbly after cooling. These problems can both be avoided with the proper boil time. You could use a candy thermometer I suppose but why dirty another item and frankly, I don’t like them. I prefer to be more diligent and careful when boiling the mixture.

If you don’t boil the mixture long enough the final cookies will not firm and set up nicely (Though will still taste marvelous). If you boil too long, the final cookie will be dry and fall apart easily (and not too marvelous).

I find that timing 60-90 seconds once the mixture comes to a ROLLING boil (not just a simmer) work out well for me every time.

Now, on to the final cookie. If you are not familiar with these cookies their texture and flavor is like eating a piece of chocolate fudge with a slight peanut butter flavorlingering in the background. The oatmeal gives these structure and helps them keep their shape and texture. Be sure to work quickly as they tend to begin to set up in about 3-5 minutes making scooping out difficult.

I like to tell myself because oatmeal is included these are ahealthy snack and can and should be consumed at breakfast. Want more reasons to make these? Ok, you can eat the ‘dough’ and lick the spoon (shouldn’t do this until done with scooping out all of the dough. No one wants slobber on their cookies) since there are no raw eggs, you can make these all different sizes since they don’t need to cook (just keep in mind if they are too big they will need more time to set up) and lastly, well, anything with peanut butter and chocolate has to be great right?

Give these cookies a try, they are great to make when you don’t have a ton of time as it does not take long for them to set up, if you are transporting them, however, I would wait for them to set up at least an hour at room temperature or 30 minutes in the fridge or they may still together. Also, I would keep them stored in a single layer or with multiple layers separated by waxed paper. Keep these stored in a covered container so they don’t dry out (not that they will last that long).

16 thoughts on “No Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies”

I remember making this recipe with my mom when I was a child. We called them “Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Drop” cookies. When I married my husband, I made them for him and he said they were called “Cow-Plop Cookies” when he was a kid. I just remember arguing over who got to lick the pan when they were done.

So I’ve made these twice now and neither one has set up properly. The second time I let them boil for 2 minutes and they still turned out just as gooey – like must eat with a spoon gooey. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong?

My problem is it always seem as though I have too much oatmeal and they are too dry. You can actually “see” the oatmeal outside the cookie😦 Any ideas??? I boiled for 90 seconds at a full rolling boil, then added the peanut butter, vanilla and oats. Thanks!

I would try adding less oatmeal, only add a little at a time until you reach the consistency you like (ie. more chocolatey). IF they are dry I think you have added too much oatmeal and may have boiled too long. Try reducing the time a bit to around 75 seconds and decrease it more from there the next time you make them if they are still too dry.
I do find these to be a bit temperamental but once you know what works for you, they are oh so good!
Good luck!

My boyfriend love the no bakes, but he likes them in cake or pie form. I am having trouble with them setting up. They are fudge like. I have tried boiling them longer, shorter, and adding more oatmeal. I am out of ideas. Suggestions?

My mom use to make these a lot! We would be eating them while she was setting them out to cool. They never lasted more then two days in our house! I’ve been thinking about doing this forever for my kids to try but my mom lost her recipes. So happy I found it🙂

I LOVE these!!! We used to call them cow patties. But now that I am married to a health nut cookies are rare in my house. So now I substitute regular cocoa for chocolate shakeology powder from Beachbody (I get the big bag). So now I tell my husband that they are super healthy!🙂 and they still taste like my great-grandma’s cow patties

I made my first batch at my moms house and they turned out perfect just like how she’d make them, so I went to the store for ingedents to make at home and they turned out gooey and a little oily still good though. turned out I accidently bought butter with like %50 vegetable oil in it! Haha I’m a beginner!